Saturday, December 1, 2012

An Austentacious Tea at Longacre House

An Austentacious Tea at the Longacre House

Two weeks ago, Barb's TEA Shop, presented an "Austentacious
Tea" at the Longacre House in Farmington Hills. A sold-out event, I was thrilled to be part of the 2012 schedule of afternoon teas which are put on monthly by local tea expert, Linda Pudlik. Linda plans the menus, creates the tablescapes and invites speakers to give themed talks.

Set for Austentacious Tea with JA tea

I met Linda last year at a tea hosted by another local tea specialist and fellow blogger, Phyllis Barkey. She extended an invitation to a tea luncheon in her home last September, after she and I had met a few month's earlier at a tea event held at the Amherst Rose Tea Room in Massillon, Ohio. The gathering in her home was wonderful - the food was delicious and the tablescape was stunning and festive. (Phyllis captured the visit in her blog story, A 2011 Tea Party - the pictures are beautiful!).

At that time, Linda invited me to be a featured speaker for the Longacre House in 2012. I had heard great things about the teas served there, so was both excited and honored.

Tablescapes set with books, lace tablecloths and nosegays

Hard to believe that we secured the date over a year ago, but it came quickly and everything went smoothly. Linda's tablescapes featured vintage books, lace tablecloths and a hand-crafted nosegay at every place setting. Twinnings tea, a favorite of Jane Austen's, was served in china teapots.The multi-course afternoon tea fare was tasty and artistically displayed. I spoke between the first and second course, so only had time to take a picture of the roasted pear salad and scone which tasted as fabulous as it looked.

First course of roasted pear salad with scone

I met a lot of amazing women that afternoon and am looking forward to my upcoming visit at Longacre this month. It's the historic home's holiday tea and I will be a guest, this time - with my good friend, Kay - so should have the opportunity to snap a few more pictures than last month. But, for a full account of the day - complete with photos of the entire afternoon, see Phyllis Barkey's blog story, "A Jane Austen Tea".

Tables set and ready for guests at Austentacious Tea

Anyone interested in hosting an "Austentacious Tea" for a group (or any of our tea talks from tea etiquette to tea history), or a tea tasting, just give us a call or send us an email. We'd love to hear from you and prepare a special tea event for you!

And, for those of you who were lucky enough to get a ticket to the Longacre House's Holiday Tea, I'll see you on Tuesday!